The Most Complex International Borders in the World - Part 4

In this 4th episode of the Most Complex International borders, I look at the surprising complications in Lake Malawi, then look at parts of Europe that are part of two countries, and finish by looking at the dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Links to previous episodes:

Select image/footage from Getty Images

[WonderWhy]

A belated Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope it was a good one, and all the best for 2024!

After more than 6 years since the previous episode, Complex Border has returned with a 4th part. Here are links to the previous episodes if you haven't seen them:



Thanks for watching! See you next year!

[johngabrielsalazar]

Nothing is more complex than WonderWhy’s upload schedule

[pas]

This series (especially the first episode) was literally a part of my childhood, I used to watch it multiple times and it's a core memory of mine. Now I'm nearly 20, that truly explains WonderWhy's upload schedule

[serotonin-deprived]

i swear to god this series' release schedule rivals rockstar's. i was 10 years old when part 1 was first uploaded, and here i am now 20 years old with part 4 being released just a few minutes ago.

jesus.

[CubicCreeper]

Every time I think WonderWhy has quit Youtube for good, he surprises us with a new upload and it's an awesome gift each time :D

[StevenRyan-dw]

While not a current border dispute, the Australian/East Timor border history is interesting. Prior to ET independence from Indonesia, Australia and Indonesia set a maritime border, with a gap between ET and Australia of no legal border but shared revenue from oil extraction. After ET independence, new negotiations of a border in the gap were made with the new nation, where the legal border was defined, but oil revenues were adjusted so that some oil from Australia’s side was given to ET(so effectively a second border). When it was later found that Australia had bugged ET’s cabinet during the negotiations, ET insisted on a new set of negotiations. This led to the legal border staying as is, but the oil revenue border being adjusted in ET’s favour.

[travelescapologist]

Love Lake Malawi/Nyasa. We used to holiday on the Tanzanian shores (Matema) dozens of times

[AZYchannel]

It's always a good day when you post. I love borders and this has to be one of my favorite series that you have done, glad to see a new episode!

[GeographyNow]

Lol You watched my shorts recently didn't you? Love your channel man.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

An interesting island on the US-Canada border is Campobello. The island was originally settled by the Passamaquoddy Nation, who called it Ebaghuit. The first Europeans were from the French expedition of Pierre Dugua de Mons and Samuel de Champlain. Following the War of the Spanish Succession, under terms of the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, the island became part of the British colony of Nova Scotia. In the 1880s the island was developed as a resort summer colony for wealthy Canadians and Americans. From 1883, the Roosevelt family made Campobello Island their summer home. The island is home to Roosevelt Campobello International Park, and it is an affiliated area of both Parks Canada and of the US National Park Service.

The island is Canadian and part of New Brunswick, but it's cut off from Canada in winter. The island's only highway, Route 774, is connected by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge to Lubec, Maine, the easternmost town in the continental United States. The only transportation link with the rest of Canada is a seasonal ferry service to Deer Island. But for those on the island during wintertime, they'd have to drive through Maine to reach Canada.

[mr]

i remember being 12 and watching part 1 on repeat bc i was fascinated by maps. now i’m 20 and i draw my own complex borders for fun. that’s crazy bro

[uberdonkey]

Living in Malawi (and going to work in Mozambique). Great and fascinating video. PS. this is the most species diverse lake in the world. Exploring oil could cause vast ecological (and fisheries) damage.

[inkM]

started watching this series when i was grade 6 and now im 18.cant believe it still had sequel.insane!
anyways, really ty 4 ur help to my geographic enlightenment.

[austinreed]

This definitely takes me back to when WonderWhy did his first Complex International Borders video. I’m glad that we were able to get another one.

[calvinheath]

The border between the states of South Australia and Victoria is a good one, especially their river tripoint with New South Wales, could be one to discuss in future!

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

An interesting condominium that used to exist is New Hebrides, or what's now Vanuatu. This condominium lasted from 1906 to 1980. The islands were named by Captain James Cook in 1774 and subsequently colonized by both the British and the French. Thus, the two would sign an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French condominium. Under the condominium there were three separate governments, one French, one British, and one joint administration that was partially elected after 1975. The French and British governments were called residencies, each headed by a resident appointed by their governments. There was an equal number of equal number of French and British representatives, bureaucrats and administrators.

Local people could choose whether to be tried under the English common law or the French civil law. Nationals of one country could set up corporations under the laws of the other. In addition to these two legal systems, a third Native Court existed to handle cases involving Melanesian customary law. The condominium was not beneficial for Ni-Vanuatu, as they were effectively stateless. Like how to travel abroad, they needed an identifying document signed by both the British and the French resident commissioners. This would lead to discontent and eventually many revolutionary groups advocating for self-government and independence. Today, the use of English or French as the formal language is split along political lines

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

Another complex border in Africa is the Congo Pedicle, the piece of the DR Congo that juts into Zambia. Basically when the Congo Free State was drawn, the Belgians and British debated over the southeast Katanga border because of the lack of an obvious geographical feature for the border to follow, as the Congo-Zambezi watershed and the Luapula do not meet as there is a 70-150 km gap between them. The British wanted a southwest to northeast line from the watershed to the Luapula, but the Belgians hoped for access to the Bangweulu Wetlands and pressed for the borders to stick to the river and watershed. The king of Italy was called in, and he drew a longitudinal line through a point on the map where the Luapula was thought to exit from the Lake Bangweulu swamps, which gave birth to the Pedicle

At the time the Congo Pedicle wasn't a problem, though it would be a problem for Zambia when it got its independence as the Pedicle cuts off the Luapula Province and the western part of the Northern Province from the Copperbelt which is the country's big industrial hub. For most of the 20th century, there was no road built through it due to lack of resources available and the swampy geography. As well as affecting communication for about one-quarter of the country with the center and west, it potentially exposes a greater part of Zambia to conflict in Katanga

[johnchessant]

4 episodes in over 10 years ... love it

[sparkxrl]

Around the time the first episode of this series released, I received my first world map as a Christmas gift. With the release of this video, I got a new map this Christmas to replace that map from 10 years ago!

[lioneldemun]

What could be interesting is a video on the disputed Paracel and Spratly islands